The Beasts of Hell
by anonymous1222
Summary: John Flint is forming a crew with his heart set on revenge, but as more and more facts from his past come to light, he must learn that nothing stays hidden forever. And in a world so intent on categorizing people between good and evil, he's going to have to deal with the consequences of allying with pirates to attain his goals. Possible romance but the story will focus on adventure


Scene 1

At Marine Headquarters Commander Kong sat in his office opposite Fleet Admiral Akainu with a report held in his shaking hands, "What is this?" the commander said, "How could you let this happen?"

"There was no sign of a break in," the Fleet Admiral said, "and we do not know who is responsible, but the men standing guard were properly punished."

"I do not care about such things," Kong said as he slammed the report down on his desk and pushed himself up from his chair, "All I care about is what you do next." Kong walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out thick, nondescript book. "Dr. Vegapunk warned us that our security wasn't high enough for such a valuable item." He then started flicking through the pages, carefully scanning whatever was in the text.

"I assure you, Commander," Akainu said as he leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over his knee, "every measure has been taken to retrieve what was stolen. I sent Kizaru to track down those responsible, and my best men are waiting for me before they depart."

Kong contemplated what the Fleet Admiral had said before sighing and telling Akainu, "Send the Shichibukai."

"What?" Akainu shouted angrily as he stood up and faced his superior, "you want me to send them?" he said bitterly at the suggestion, "How can we trust them with such a mission?" Akainu approached Kong, his fist steaming as he prepared his power, "I refuse to go along with such a plan."

"You forget your place, Sakazuki," Kong said angrily as he slammed the book shut, "You may have bested Aokiji for your position, but I am still your superior, and, for your sake, I pray that you remember your place."

Kong glared at Akainu who, after a moment of hesitation, stood down and powered down. "As you wish, Commander," Akainu turned and headed out the office without saluting, "I will send the Shichibukai."

The Fleet Admiral slammed the door behind him, and Kong collapsed in his chair with a sigh. "That fool," he said as he reopened the book, "He is far too hotheaded for his position." He put the book down and read the text, '_Snake-Snake Fruit, model: Leviathan. Entry by Dr. Vegapunk. The Leviathan fruit is an immensely powerful Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, and is currently the only known Devil Fruit that is able to bypass the standard weaknesses to water and Kairoseki. The fruit bestows transformative powers of the biblical Leviathan. The full extent of these powers is currently unknown, however, after several experiments, it is believed that the fruit grants certain weather controlling abilities. Further research required.'_

Scene 2

Captain K. R. Hook sat down across from a cloaked man in the dark corner of a bar in the alleys of Crestfall Island of West Blue. He then placed his own small wooden chest on the table between them next to the cloaked man's chest. "So," said Hook as he tried to get a glimpse of the man's face behind the hood of his cloak, "is this it?" Beneath the table Hook nervously gripped the hook where his left hand used to be.

"Yes," said the cloaked man in a low, raspy voice, "stolen from the marines themselves," the man carefully opened the crate, revealing a Devil Fruit, dark green in color and in the shape of Pomegranate. Unlike most Devil Fruits the man had seen, this one glowed with a faint green light.

Hook had to hide the excitement in his face. He cleared his throat before speaking again, "So, how much?" Hook couldn't tear his eyes from the fruit.

The cloaked man smiled, "50 billion belis."

Hook felt his heart stop at the outrageous price, "50 billion?" Hook asserted, "most Devil fruits go past 100 million."

"Clearly you don't understand the amount of trouble there was in retrieving this. And for an item this powerful….if you are unwilling to pay the price, then I shall take my business elsewhere." The cloaked man closed the chest and stood up, ready to leave, but Hook grabbed his arm.

"Wait….just wait," he took a deep breath and opened his chest, revealing stacks of bills, "I have 1 billion beli on me right now. It's all my crew and I have."

"Not enough," said the man as he pulled his chest off the table, "call me again when you have the money."

The man started heading out the bar, but Hook, after a moment of hesitation, called to him, "Wait…..My ship and my crew."

The cloaked man turned around, "What about them?"

"As a trade. You've seen my ship. I know it's not worth 50 billion, but it, along with my crew, it's a good deal."

The man thought for a moment, "How do I know I will have their loyalty? How can I be sure that they won't betray me the moment I have my backed turned?"

"They only follow the strongest," said Hook, eyeing the chest in the crook of the man's arm.

"And that's you?" responded the cloaked man, as he raised an eyebrow behind the cover of his hood.

Hook nodded and reached into his cloak. He pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment and tossed it to the cloaked man, who caught it and unrolled it.

"Wanted," he read out loud from the poster, "Captain K. R. Hook. 250 Million Beli." The man looked at the photo of Hook, in which he still had both hands, before rolling up the poster, "very well," he said as he tossed the poster back to Hook, "So what do you have in mind?"

"Simple," Hook said as he stuffed the poster back into his coat, "We stage my death. My crew accepts you as their Captain." Hook walked past the man, his own chest in hand, "We'll have to do this in sight of my ship, so why don't we…." Suddenly Hook felt a sharp pain in his stomach, and a hot sensation flowed down his front. Stunned, he looked down shocked at the thin blade protruding from his stomach. Shaking, he looked over his shoulder and saw the man standing right behind him. "Why?" he said weakly.

"Did you really think I was going to hand over such a valuable item so easily?" Hook could see the man's crooked smile from beneath the hood, "Now," he said in Hook's ear, "I'm going to let you keep that," he said as he motioned to Hook's chest, "But I will be taking your ship. Which is too bad for your crew by the way," with a motion, the patrons of the bar, including the barista herself, crowded around the two and stood silently. "You see, I already have a crew, and we've been waiting so long to get off this rock and make our way to the Grand Line."

"You won't find my men easy pickings," Hook said with a weak laugh before he coughed up some blood. The man pulled out his blade, causing Hook to crash to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

"I have heard about you Captain Hook," said the cloaked man as he knelt down beside the dying man, "Of course I didn't know it was you until you showed me that poster of yours. But honestly," the man said, "your crew did not live up to their reputation."

Hooks eyes widened, "What did you do?"

The man started chuckling, "Now, that's none of your concern. Not anymore," the man reached down with his sword and slit Hook's throat. As the last remnants of life left Hook's body, the man stood up and threw off his hood, revealing a heavily scarred face and long, graying hair.

"Let's go," the man said as he sheathed his sword and pushed his way toward the exit, "it's time we head for the Grand Line." The man's crew started shouting and clapping in response. But as it died down, one person continued clapping, slowly.

"Good job," the man and his crew looked up in the rafters to see a young man with choppy black hair clapping, "I mean," he said as he stopped clapping, "really….really scary." The young man laid back against the rafters and put his hands behind his head.

"Ah, young John Flint," said the cloaked man, "come to join my crew, have you? No problem. We have room for a promising young man such as yourself."

"Good to see you Copper," Flint said to the cloaked man as he unfastened the buttons of his black coat, "Good to see you got your voice back. Sorry about the whole, you know, bomb incident."

"No matter," said Copper as he rubbed his throat, "what's a little pain in the pursuit of fame? Besides, I like seeing young ones with a rebellious spirit in them."

"Cheers to the Golden Age of Piracy, eh?" said Flint.

"Ay," Copper said with a smile, "cheers."

"So where'd you really get that fruit from, Copper?" Flint asked the man, who clutched the chest containing the fruit tighter against his side, "There's no way you could have been the one to break into the marine HQ; you've never even been to the Grand Line. So tell me, where did you get it from?"

"It's a family heirloom. My grandfather found it back in his piracy days. And he gave it to me on his deathbed."

"Touching," said Flint causing Copper to smile, "it's also a fake."

Suddenly, Copper's face turned to anger, "What? How dare you make such an accusation. My grandfather—"

"Oh, don't get me wrong," Flint interrupted, "Your grandfather did in fact give you that fruit, which, by the way, is nowhere near as rare as you had that Hook guy believe," he reached into his coat, "And you really need to keep a closer eye on your belongings," Flint pulled out a fruit identical to the one in Copper's chest and started tossing it up and down with a smile on his face.

Copper opened the chest and inspected the fruit, "I don't believe you," he said, but Flint could see the doubt in his face.

"You older pirates are hilarious, you know that," Flint said as he started tossing his fruit up higher, "you are all so used to the days when you could just walk over the residents of whatever island you just happened to be on. You've gone your whole lives as if no one could possibly harm you, until—" his eyes widened as the fruit slipped out of his hand and started falling to the ground. But as Copper made a desperate dive to catch it, Flint let a smile slip past his lips. And just as Copper caught the fruit, he covered his face and whispered, "Boom."

Suddenly, an eruption of shrapnel engulfed the pirates below, but Flint, protected by the rafters, simply sat up and jumped down to the carnage below. As the smoke cleared he picked up the chest containing the real fruit and started making his way out. But before he could make it too far he felt someone grab his ankle. Flint looked down and saw the badly wounded Copper struggling to keep a hold of the young man, who let out a small laugh.

"Look here, Copper," Flint said as he pulled his leg free, "But I have no interest in the world of piracy. It's a shame you had to be pulled into this." Flint then pulled out a dagger and drove it into the side of Copper's neck. And before the last bit of life left the man's eyes, Flint knelt down and whispered, "and congratulations, most men don't live to be targeted by my partner's bombs twice."

Once Copper's body went limp, Flint made his way out of the bar where he was met by a woman with dark skin and short white hair tied up in a red bandana. The woman stood a full head taller than Flint and, wore a coat much like his over a rather revealing white top.

"Did you get it?" the young woman asked as she spotted the now battered chest.

"Yeah," Flint said as he opened the chest, revealing the Devil Fruit.

"Is it anything special?" she said as she pulled it out of the chest and started inspecting it.

"I doubt it," Flint said, "the way he was talking about it you'd think it was on par with Phoenix Marco's fruit."

"Are you sure you wanna risk it, John? Some of the powers that come along with the fruit may not be worth the inability to swim."

"Dana, we're heading to the Grand Line. We are going to need every advantage we can get if we want to survive. What can we hope to achieve if we don't take a few risks along the way?" Flint took the fruit from Dana and put it in his coat, "I've secured a ship. Mind giving me a lift?"

"Right away, Flint," Dana said before activating her powers and transforming into a giant parrot. She grabbed Flint by the shoulders with her talons and flew him to the ship.

"You know," Flint said as Dana dropped him on the deck of the small ship, still riddled with the bodies of the previous crew, and transformed back to her human form, "you could make a pirate captain very happy with that fruit."

"Funny, Flint," she said in a very displeased tone, "my last captain couldn't get enough of those jokes. You better not start with them as well."

"Don't call me a captain," said Flint angrily, "I'm not a pirate. I'm only doing what is necessary."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Dana said, "Look, I'll help you navigate to the next island, but we're going to need someone who really knows how to navigate eventually. So you better think of finding someone there. Not to mention the fact that we are going to need an actual crew if we even hope to survive the Grand Line."

"Don't worry" Flint said as he pulled out a newspaper, "I've got someone in mind. By the way, thanks for the bomb. A true work of art, as always."

"Hey," Dana said with a smile, "it's my pleasure."

As she walked to prep the ship for departure, Flint reread the article he had found the day before, '_Break in at Marine HQ.' _

"I know you are behind this," Flint said to himself as he narrowed his eyes at the article, "and whatever it takes, I will stop you. But first," Flint turned to the wanted section and found the man he was looking for, "Cray McKa, what is it that you fight for?"

"Flint," Dana shouted, "the ship's ready to depart. Where to?"

"Set sail for Starfall Cape, but first…" he paused as he pulled the devil fruit from his coat, "time to see how my luck fares," he took a deep breath before taking a bite from the fruit.

The taste was so terrible that Flint thought it was going to make him sick, but he swallowed the fruit none-the-less. The experience, however, did make him double over and start panting, "That was disgusting."

"Yeah, it really hits you hard, huh?" Dana patted Flint on the back, "So, feel any different?"

"I feel strange…but it's nothing," but then a strange sensation came over him, and he suddenly found himself on his hands and knees. But he didn't feel lightheaded or sick. Quite the contrary; his senses seemed sharper than ever. He could smell the residue of the previous island on Dana's clothes.

He was confused by the sudden change until he looked at his own hands, which were now in the form of jet black paws, each with a set of vicious, razor sharp claws. Dana led him into the captain's quarters and pulled a mirror off the dresser, which she placed in front of him.

He had transformed into a large black hound with deep green eyes. He came up to Dana's waist and on his chest was a green X. With a thought he transformed back to his human form and looked to Dana, "So, a Zoan," he said with a smile.

"We'll have to see how powerful you are in that form," Dana said as she put the mirror back on the dresser, "I'd suggest you train a bit before using it for real."

"Right."

"By the way. That mark on your chest. Was that from….Him?"

Flint hesitated before answering, "Yes," he said, "that was the scar that my old captain gave me."

"Is that why you don't want me calling you 'captain?'"

"No," he said, "I don't want you calling me 'captain' because I am not a pirate. Once I get my revenge, I am done, and you will have your pay."

"Then why not join the marines?" Dana suggested, "then you wouldn't have to dodge the law."

"Because," Flint said, "sometimes, if you want to get things done, you have to take matters into your own hands."

Dana smiled, "Sounds good to me," she said as she headed out of the quarters, "I'll set course for Starfall Cape."

Flint made his way back to the deck of the ship. He picked up the remnants of the Devil Fruit and threw them overboard before looking at the several bloody and lifeless bodies around him. With a sigh he started dragging the bodies to the side of the ship before dumping them into the sea below.

Scene 3

Captain Isaiah stood on a cliff on an uncharted island on the grand line, holding the blue Devil Fruit up against the sun. He was a tall man, easily over 8 feet in height, and had short black hair, which had started graying at his temples. "Captain," a man with short grey hair and an eye-patch approached Isaiah, "we are short on men. I think it would be wise to recruit some new members."

"How many men remain?" he asked in a deep, rough voice.

"Including you and I, six of us remain."

"Jishi," Isaiah said, "How long have you been a member of my crew?"

"Almost 20 years, Captain," Jishi said.

"Would you say we've had a good run? Have I been a good captain?"

"The best, sir."

"Yet, my bounty has still not surpassed 100 million beli, and we haven't made the headlines since the days of Gold Roger."

"Maybe," Jishi said as he stepped closer to his captain, "but with the power from that fruit, your name will instill terror in the hearts of all who hear it."

"Thank you, Jishi," Isaiah said, "it always pleases me to hear such words," and with that, Isaiah ate the Devil Fruit whole. "And that is why this is going to hurt," he said as he turned to face Jishi, who wore a very confused expression.

"I don't understand, Captain."

Isaiah smiled and patted his crew member on the shoulder, "Thank you for your devotion," and with that, Isaiah jumped into the ocean below.

"CAPTAIN," Jishi shouted as his captain disappeared into the dark depths. But before he could run for help, he heard a deafening roar from below, and the sea started foaming. "What is this?" Jishi said, terrified as he felt the very earth beneath him shake. Then the weather started turning foul. Jishi looked up and saw storm clouds fill the sky as rain and hail started pouring down.

But then the roaring stopped, and the clouds parted. Jishi allowed himself to smile, but his happiness was short lived. After a brief moment of silence, he heard a thundering crack, and saw their ship being crushed in the jaws of a terrifying serpent as it was pulled beneath the surface of the ocean.

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There's chapter 1. Hope you enjoyed. Please leave reviews.


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